Custom graphic film

ABSTRACT

A product, system, and method for creating a film capable of allowing a user to create a custom graphical representation is described, which may allow a user to create a custom graphical representation in a film by depressing select areas of the film to form the custom graphical representation.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/143,096, filed Apr. 29, 2016, titled “Custom Graphic Film,” which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Consumers may desire to create custom graphics and convey information onsurfaces, such as surfaces of beverage containers.

SUMMARY

A film is disclosed. The film may be used on a label for consumer goodssuch as a bottle. The film may include a background layer, an upperlayer, and a movable material layer disposed between the backgroundlayer and the upper layer. The movable material of the movable materiallayer may move from a first location relative to the background layer toa second location relative to the background layer in response to aforce applied to the first layer and the movable material may remain inthe second location after the force is removed from the first layer.Upper layer and background layer may form a pouch containing movablematerial layer.

The label may further include a lower layer under the background layer.The background layer and the moveable material layer may be differentcolors or different degrees of translucency (e.g., opaque, transparent,or in between) and the movable material layer may be disposed over lessthan 25% of the surface area of the label. The movable material layermay move to visually expose the background layer in response to anapplied force. The movable material may be a water-based polymer orother polymers or combinations of polymers. The upper layer may betransparent and may be a biaxially oriented polypropylene film so thecontrast between the movable material layer and the background layer maybe more visible.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and form a partof the specification, illustrate embodiments of the present invention byway of example, and not by way of limitation. Together with thedescription they further serve to explain principles of the inventionand enable a person skilled in the pertinent art to make and use theinvention.

FIG. 1 is an illustration of a film applied to a label of a beveragecontainer according to some embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 2. is an illustration of a film according to some embodiments ofthe present invention.

FIG. 3 is an illustration of a film applied to a label according to someembodiments of the present invention.

FIGS. 4A-4E illustrate an operation of applying a custom mark to a filmaccording to some embodiments of the present invention.

FIGS. 5A-5E illustrate an operation of applying a custom mark to a filmaccording to some embodiments of the present invention.

FIGS. 6A-6C illustrate an operation of applying a custom mark to a filmaccording to some embodiments of the present invention.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are illustrations of a film applied to a label accordingto some embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention will now be described in detail with reference toembodiments thereof as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.References to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “an exampleembodiment,” “some embodiments,” etc., indicate that the embodimentdescribed may include a particular feature, structure, orcharacteristic, but every embodiment may not necessarily include thatparticular feature, structure, or characteristic. Similarly, otherembodiments may include additional features, structures, orcharacteristics. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring tothe same embodiment. When a particular feature, structure, orcharacteristic is described in connection with the embodiment, it issubmitted that it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art toeffect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection withother embodiments whether or not explicitly described.

The term “invention” or “present invention” as used herein is anon-limiting term and is not intended to refer to any single embodimentof the particular invention but encompasses all possible embodiments asdescribed in the application.

The systems and methods described herein may be used to produce a filmcapable of displaying a user customized graphic. More particularly,these systems and methods describe a multiple layer film. The film mayinclude a writeable layer for a consumer to create a custom graphic inthe film.

Films may be applied to a wide variety of product packaging to createdurable and effective labels. Such films may be formed of, for example,polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), orpolylactic acid (PLA). Films may also be used to create an entirepackage or container. Examples of film labels include wraps aroundbeverage containers or candy wrappers. Films used to create containersmay include snack pouches or beverage pouches. Films may include printedlayers to display messages or graphics. The graphics may be used toidentify a beverage or a brand.

The inventors of the invention described herein have recognized the needfor a new product, system, and method of customizing a graphicalrepresentation on product packaging, including beverage containers. Forexample, at social gatherings or sporting events, guests or participantsmay use beverage containers. The beverage containers may be, forexample, cans, bottles, flasks, cups, mugs, or other container types.Additionally, the beverage containers may be designed for single use ormay be reusable. These beverage containers may also be made of a varietyof materials including, but not limited to, glass, metal, aluminum, orplastics. Many commercial beverage containers, such as bottled waters,sodas, energy drinks, juices, or electrolyte sports drinks have similaror identical packaging and when used by many people at the samelocation, such as a team sporting event or social function, the beveragecontainers can be mixed up leading to confusion about which beveragecontainer belongs to which person. For example, at a social function, ahost may purchase several dozen beverages for guests, or at a sportingevent a coach may purchase a case of beverages for the participants.Identical beverage containers may lead to confusion over which beveragecontainer belongs to which person. A person who has selected a beveragebut subsequently loses track of it may not have confidence that thebeverage they subsequently pick up belongs to them. This confusion maycause a person to dispose of their beverage container out of concernsthat the beverage container may not belong to them. This increases bothbeverage product waste and beverage container waste because a person mayunnecessarily dispose of their own beverage container, simply due to alack of confidence that it is theirs.

To avoid this confusion, a person may wish to personalize their beveragecontainer (e.g., on its label). For example, a person may mark theirbeverage container using a permanent marker. While this method mayreduce confusion among people with similar-looking beverage containers,it has drawbacks. For example, if two people mark their containers withthe same name, distinguishing between the two could be difficult. Also,it requires use of a secondary instrument—a marker—which may not beavailable. In some cases, adhesive labels may be used to distinguishbeverage containers. Adhesive labels may be attached to the exterior ofthe beverage container. People may write their names or make otherdistinguishing marks on the label. However, adhesive labels havedrawbacks in addition to requiring a secondary instrument to mark thelabel. Adhesion of labels becomes less effective due to condensationthat may develop on the exterior of the beverage container. The effectsof condensation or continued contact with the holder's hand may alsocause the label to wear and come apart leaving small pieces of the labelin the holder's hand. Additionally, in the case where a scratch-awayfilm is applied to a beverage container (allowing a mark to be scratchedinto the film by removing portions of the film, similar to a scratch offlottery ticket) this, like the adhesive label, leaves undesirableresidue and flakes due to the removal of the film material.

The new products, systems, and methods described herein have improvedcapabilities, thus offering end point consumers, distributors, andproducers a greater ability to customize a graphical representation on aconsumer good. Further, embodiments of the present invention havereduced production costs and improved health and environmental effects.

The film disclosed herein allows consumers to create custom graphics ona film. The disclosed film may be applied to labels of any shape orcontour and may be used with industrial printing equipment. The film mayalso be applied in a wide variety of shapes to create visually pleasingand space-appropriate custom graphic areas. For example, the customgraphics film may be applied in the shape of a square, circle,rectangle, star, or scroll. The film is flexible enough for consumer useand may be placed on a wide variety of products.

The products, systems, and methods disclosed herein present films usedin the context of product labeling for descriptive purposes. However,the disclosed embodiments are not limited to use solely as a label. Someembodiments are described below with reference to the accompanyingfigures.

In some embodiments, a label 400 may be adhered to or attached to abeverage container 500, as shown in FIG. 1. Beverage container 500 maybe, for example, a can, bottle, flask, cup, mug, or other variety andmay be made of a variety of materials including, but not limited to,glass, metal, aluminum, or plastics. In some embodiments, label 400 mayinclude a film 100 to aid in identifying or otherwise marking the goods.Film 100 may be formed of a material that allows it to be marked andretain a representation of that mark (e.g., to help distinguish it).Label 400 may also be used on various other goods (e.g., individuallywrapped snack bars, prepackaged meals, lunch bags, other food storagecontainers, or toys).

In some embodiments, a user wishing to display a mark such as a customgraphic 114 on a film 100 may form depression 102 in film 100, as shownin FIG. 2. Depression 102 may leave a mark 115 in film 100 formingcustom graphic 114. Depression 102, and mark 115 in film 100 created bydepression 102, will remain in film 100 until a user deforms film 100 ina way that deforms the original depression 102 to the extent that it isno longer visible (e.g., by applying pressure to the surface of film 100around the original depression 102 or by creating another depression 102near the original depression 102). As shown in FIG. 3, in someembodiments film 100 may be applied to a label 400 allowing a user tocreate a custom graphic 114 on label 400. This configuration may bebeneficial in the consumer goods market because film 100 may be appliedto only a small area of label 400, thereby allowing companies tocontinue to brand the majority of label 400 while still giving consumersthe ability to customize label 400.

As shown in FIG. 4A, in some embodiments, film 100 is composed of anupper layer 104, a movable material layer 106, a background layer 108,and a lower layer 110. In some embodiments, upper layer 104 may be abiaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) film. In some embodiments upperlayer 104 may be a polymeric film between 6 and 50 microns thick, andmay be applied to other layers of film 100 by, for example a laminationprocess. In some embodiments upper layer 104 may be a clear coating orfilm between 0.5 to 50 microns thick, and may be applied to other layersof film 100 by, for example, a surface printing process. Upper layer 104may be transparent. In some embodiments it may have a color hue.

Upper layer 104 may enclose movable material layer 106 againstbackground layer 108. Movable material layer 106 may be made of avariety of materials. Movable material layer 106 may be movable withinthe area beneath upper layer 104. For example, it may be flowable. Insome embodiments, for example, movable material layer 106 may becomposed of gel that is flowable in response to an applied force, andthat retains its position in the absence of an applied force. In someembodiments, movable material layer 106 may be opaque or translucent, sothat it obscures background layer 108 over which it is disposed. In someembodiments, movable material layer 106 may have a viscosity between 50cP (centipoise) and 5000 cP (e.g., between 200 cP and 500 cP).

In some embodiments, background layer 108 and upper layer 104 may besealed at defined areas to create a pouch 120 for movable material layer106. Moveable material layer 106 may occupy the pouch and may flowwithin the pouch. Movable material of movable material layer 106 may bethe only substance within pouch 120. Movable material layer 106 may beentirely sealed within pouch. Background layer 108 and upper layer 104may be sealed at defined areas to create pouch 120, or multiple pouches120, with different shapes. Pouch 120 may be sealed around its edges 122formed by the contact between upper layer 104 and background layer 108to prevent movable material layer 106 from exiting pouch 120. Forexample, pouch 120 may be formed in the shape of a scroll to give film100 the shape of a scroll or other visually pleasing shape. A scroll,for example, may reinforce in the user's mind that the film is a customgraphic film on which the user may create custom graphic 114.

In some embodiments, the total thickness of film 100 is between 1 and 20microns (e.g., between 3 and 10 microns).

A user wishing to create custom graphic 114 on film 100 may do so withan instrument 112 (see, e.g., FIGS. 4B-4D). Instrument 112 may be avariety of objects. For example, instrument 112 may be, but is notlimited to, a coin, credit card, fingernail, writing instrument, stick,or shoelace aglet. Instrument 112 generally is sufficiently rigid todepress upper layer 104 towards background layer 108 when forced againstupper layer 104.

In some embodiments, instrument 112 may apply point pressure to alocation 116 on film 100. As instrument 112 is lowered further down intofilm 100 (i.e., below the original position of upper layer 104), upperlayer 104 and movable material layer 106 begin to deform (see, e.g., thesequence of FIGS. 4B-4E in which a coin serving as instrument 112 isforced against upper layer 104 and deeper into film 100, therebydisplacing some portion of movable material layer 106). Upper layer 104remains a cohesive, intact layer with minimal or no compression. Movablematerial layer 106, in contrast, begins to flow away from instrument112's applied pressure, that is, away from location 116. Movablematerial layer 108 may be displaced by point pressure applied to upperlayer 104 causing upper layer 104 to move closer to background layer108. A distributed force (e.g., a non-point force applied by a roundedsurface or otherwise distributed over upper layer 104) will generallynot be sufficient to displace movable material layer 108. Therefore,objects with narrow edges, such as, for example the tip of a fingernail,which concentrate the force applied into a small area may cause movablematerial layer to be displaced while a force applied over a larger areaof film 100 may not cause movable material layer 108 to be displaced.For example, movable material layer 108 may not be displaced when thehand of the user is pressed against upper layer 104 or when upper layer104 rubs against another object.

FIG. 4D shows instrument 112 depressing upper layer 114 until it is incontact with background layer 108. Upper layer 114 may or may not makecontact with background layer 108. However, as instrument 112 depressesupper layer 104 towards background layer 108, writeable layer 106 flowsaway from pressure point 116. FIG. 4E presents film 100 after instrument112 is removed from film 100. As shown in FIG. 4E, writeable layer 106does not flow back to pressure point 116. Rather, writable layer 106remains in the same position it was in just before instrument 112 wasremoved from film 100. That is, movable material layer 106 remains awayfrom pressure point 116. In this way, the portion of background layer108 at point 116 is visible through upper layer 106 (i.e., it is nolonger obscured by movable material layer 106). This creates a visualdistinction between pressure point 116 of film 100 (where backgroundlayer 108 is visible (or is more clearly visible)) and portions of film100 where movable material layer 106 is still disposed over backgroundlayer 108 (where background layer is not visible (or is less clearlyvisible). This path (e.g., shape) of this visual distinction iscustomizable by a user dragging instrument 112 along upper layer 104 tofurther deform movable material layer 106, thereby creating any desiredmark appearing on film 100. Film 100 may also be rewriteable. A user mayalter the path of the visual distinction by dragging instrument 112along upper layer 104 again to further deform movable layer 106 causingmark 114 to change in shape. Moveable layer 106 may move back into anarea it previously flowed away from because of further deformation.Thus, portions of film 100 where background layer 108 is visible or ismore visible may be obscured or may be more obscured than before byapplication of pressure that moves material of movable layer 106 backover areas of background layer 108 that it had previously been movedaway from. In some embodiments, background layer 108 may be a BOPP filmand may include a color or colors. The color or colors of backgroundlayer 108 may be different than the color of movable material layer 106to provide a clear indication of where movable material layer 106 isdisplaced (e.g., through contrast between the different colors). In someembodiments, upper layer 104 may be clear, movable material layer 106may be opaque, and background layer 108 may be colored a different colorthan movable material layer 106. In this way, as a user marks on film100 spreading writable layer 106, background layer 108 shows throughupper layer 104. This combination will make the marks in writable layer106 more visible to the user.

In some embodiments movable material layer 106 may be a mixture of aresin or emulsion (e.g., a styrene resin) and a coloring agent. In someembodiments movable material layer 106 may be composed of a commerciallyavailable water-based polymer combined with an opaque polymer. Thiscombination may allow for clear visual distinction between movablematerial layer 106 and background layer 108. Additionally, the uses ofsome water-based polymers may lead to improved printing performance fromindustrial printers, such that film 100 may be printed on label 400using a typical industrial printing process. Since labels 400 typicallygo through such printing processes anyway during their manufacture, thisallows the incorporation of film 100 into label 400 without complicatinglabel manufacture by introducing new processes.

In some embodiments, lower layer 110 may be product packaging.Background layer 108 may be applied to lower layer 110 using a printer.Movable material layer 106 may also be applied to background layer 108using a printer. In this way, minimal changes to existing manufacturingmethod need to be made to incorporate film 100 because both backgroundlayer 108 and movable material layer 106 may be printed directly onproduct packaging.

In some embodiments, film 100 may include more or fewer layers thanthose shown in FIGS. 4A-4E. For example, FIGS. 5A-5E show an embodimentof the present invention with three layers. In this embodiment, thethree layers are upper layer 104, movable material layer 106, andbackground layer 108. These layers may have the same characteristics asalready described above.

FIG. 6A shows film 100 before custom graphic 114 is added. As shown,movable material layer 106 covers the entirety of film 100. Movablematerial layer 106 is disposed below upper layer 104, which is clear inthis example. Movable material layer 106, on the other hand, is opaqueand can be seen under upper layer 104. In FIG. 6B, instrument 112 ismoved down into film 100 and in a path along film 100 thereby causingwriteable layer 106 to flow away from instrument 112 along the path,which forms custom graphic 114. As noted above, FIGS. 4A-4E show thatinstrument 112 depresses upper layer 104 through movable material layer106 until upper layer 104 meets background layer 108. FIG. 6C showsbackground layer 108 seen through upper layer 104 after instrument 112is removed from film 100. Movable material layer 106 is shown on eitherside of the now-visible the background layer 108. In some embodiments,such as is shown in FIG. 6C, custom graphic 114 is formed in film 100using the contrast between opaque movable material layer 106 and coloredbackground layer 108, both visible through upper layer 104.

In some embodiments, film 100 may be applied to a packaging label or maybe a packaging label. FIGS. 7A and 7B present label 400 with film 100applied to a select area. Film 100 may occupy, for example, 5%, 10%,20%, 25%, or 100% of the total area of label 400. Embodiments where film100 is applied to less than 100% (e.g., less than 25%) of the total areaof label 400 allow the remaining area of label 400 to be used for othergraphics and text. Film 100 may be applied in many shapes and may becontinuous or discontinuous. FIGS. 7A and 7B show film 100 before customgraphic 114 is applied (FIG. 7A) and after custom graphic 114 is applied(FIG. 7B). In some embodiments film 100 may be applied to label 400using a standard ink print printing process. In some embodiments, lowerlayer 110 may be a packaging wrap label. An industrial printer may applybackground layer 108 to a select area of label 400. The printer may alsoapply graphics or coloring background layer 108 and to other portions oflabel 400 where film 100 will not be used. The printer may apply movablematerial layer 106 to background layer 108. Upper layer 104 may then beapplied over movable material layer 104. In some embodiments upper layer104 may be applied across the entire label 400, which may help toprovide a consistent look and feel to the exterior of label 400, and mayhelp to maintain the layers of film 100 in place.

The Detailed Description section is intended to be used to interpret theclaims. The Summary and Abstract sections may set forth one or more butnot all exemplary embodiments of the present invention as contemplatedby the inventors, and thus, are not intended to limit the presentinvention and the appended claims to those particular embodiments.

The present invention has been described above with the aid offunctional building blocks illustrating the implementation of specifiedfunctions and relationships thereof. The boundaries of these functionalbuilding blocks have been arbitrarily defined herein for the convenienceof the description. Alternate boundaries can be defined so long as thespecified functions and relationships thereof are appropriatelyperformed.

The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fullyreveal the general nature of the invention that others can, by applyingknowledge within the skill of the art, readily modify and/or adapt forvarious applications such specific embodiments, without undueexperimentation, without departing from the general concept of thepresent invention. Therefore, such adaptations and modifications areintended to be within the meaning and range of equivalents of thedisclosed embodiments, based on the teaching and guidance presentedherein. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminologyherein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation, suchthat the terminology or phraseology of the present specification is tobe interpreted by the skilled artisan in light of the teachings andguidance.

The breadth and scope of the present invention should not be limited byany of the above-described exemplary embodiments, but should be definedonly in accordance with the following claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of making a rewriteable film, the methodcomprising: applying a movable medium to a background layer, wherein themovable medium is a flowable gel; applying an upper layer over themovable medium; and sealing the upper layer to the background layeraround the movable medium, wherein a thickness of the rewriteable filmis less than 20 microns.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the upperlayer is transparent.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the upper layeris a biaxially oriented polypropylene film.
 4. The method of claim 1,wherein the background layer is a different color than the movablemedium.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the background layer and theupper layer form a pouch and wherein the movable medium is containedwithin the pouch.
 6. A method of making a rewriteable film, the methodcomprising: applying a movable medium to a background layer, wherein themovable medium is a flowable gel having a viscosity between 50 cP and5000 cP; applying an upper layer over the movable medium; and sealingthe upper layer to the background layer around the movable medium. 7.The method of claim 6, wherein the movable medium is opaque.
 8. Themethod of claim 6, wherein the movable medium comprises polymers.
 9. Themethod of claim 8, wherein the polymers comprise a water-based polymer.10. The method of claim 6, wherein the movable medium has a viscositybetween 200 cP and 500 cP.
 11. The method of claim 6, wherein themoveable medium flows from a first location to a second location inresponse to a force applied to the upper layer.
 12. The method of claim11, wherein the moveable medium remains flowable at the second location.13. A method of making a rewriteable film, the method comprising:applying a graphic on a background layer; applying a movable medium tothe background layer, wherein the movable medium is a flowable gel;applying an upper layer over the movable medium; and sealing the upperlayer to the background layer around the movable medium.
 14. The methodof claim 13, wherein the moveable medium has a viscosity between 50 cPand 5000 cP.
 15. The method of claim 13, wherein the moveable mediumremains at the second location when the force applied to the first layeris removed.
 16. The method of claim 13, wherein the moveable medium doesnot separate from the background layer.
 17. The method of claim 13,wherein the movable medium is a resin.
 18. The method of claim 13,wherein the movable medium moves to visually expose the background layerin response to and at the location of an applied force.
 19. The methodof claim 13, wherein the movable medium comprises polymers.
 20. Themethod of claim 13, wherein a thickness of the rewriteable film is lessthan 20 microns.